Even was pacing around the room angrily.
"What are we going to do?!" he demanded. "We have to do something! They took Ienzo away and hurt him! We can't just sit here and let them do what they want!"
"Whoa. Whoa. Calm down old man," Braig said from his position by the door. "We don't even know where the little dude is."
"You should really rest," Dilan supplied. "You were struck down hard."
Even waved them off.
"I don't care about that! I don't even feel it anymore!" A brief flinch of pain flickered across his face and they all knew he was lying. "I just want to get Ienzo back!"
"And we will, Even," Ansem said, determined. "But we have to figure out where he is first like Braig said. Until then I think we should just do as they say. If we comply they should let him go."
A loud sound made them all jump and they turned to see that Even had slammed his fist on the table.
"I can't wait that long! Who knows what they might do to him in that time!"
"Even!" Ansem yelled. "I order you to rest for the rest of the day! I will notify the authorities and the school. You will not be going back. I never liked that job in the first place. Your priority should be here."
The scientist stared at him.
"W-What?! I respectfully refuse! I need to help find him! And I love my job! My students like my class! And I /do/ put a priority on my work here!"
Ansem walked over to a button on the wall and pushed it; several guards ran into the room.
"Take Even to his rooms and make sure he stays in there unless I give you orders to let him leave."
Even's mouth dropped open.
"You can't be serious, sir! Ienzo is my charge so I need to help you find him! You can't do this to me! Locking me away won't do any good!" A guard grabbed his arm but he tore it out of his grip. "You don't even care about him! You're just going to let whoever has him do whatever they want!"
Ansem stomped over to Even, fury evident in his eyes.
"I /do/ care about him! Don't you dare say that I don't! Do you not think I blame myself for this as much as you do?! I am going to comply with what they say because that might prevent his death or any gruesome injury! Stop being so selfish and go rest! We will get him back!"
The scientist hung his head.
"Fine…but please tell me any changes."
Ansem nodded.
"If we get another letter or we find him, we'll come get you."
Even let himself be led away.
When the two people left, Ienzo whimpered and put his hand on his cheek.
Gabrielle slipped over to sit next to him and pulled his hand away to see the damage.
"This isn't too deep. You should be fine. I can tell it hurts though." She crinkled up her face in a small pout as she thought. "Oh! I know!" Leaning forward she gently kissed his hurt cheek. "There! Just like Mom used to!"
Ienzo tilted his head in confusion.
"What?"
"Moms are supposed to kiss something that hurts to make it feel better. Doesn't your mom do that?"
He looked away.
"I didn't know her…Ansem took me in as an infant…"
Gasping, Gabrielle threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"Oh you poor baby! I'm so sorry that I was so insensitive!"
Ienzo shrugged.
"It's alright. You didn't know."
He reached down and tore his sleeve off.
"What are you doing?"
"I need to bandage this," he said as he indicated the gash on his cheek. He pressed the cloth against his cheek and held it there.
"Hey. Wait." Gabrielle pulled some sports tape out of her pocket and used it to secure the cloth to his face. "There you go. You don't have to hold it on anymore."
"Thank you, Gabrielle."
"Of course, Ienzo. I want to do anything I can to help. It's partly my fault that you're here anyway…"
Confused, and a little worried, Ienzo tilted his head.
"What? What do you mean?"
Gabrielle looked away.
"If I had managed to get help then you wouldn't be here…"
Ienzo took her hand in one of his and cupped her face with his other to make her look at him.
"That's not true. If you had managed to get help then /you/ wouldn't be here." He blushed a little. "And then I wouldn't have to worry about them hurting you…"
She blushed as well.
"But if I wasn't here I would worry about you getting hurt and having no one to help you get better."
Without noticing the two moved closer together until their noses were almost touching.
Suddenly the door banged open and they jumped apart.
"Get over here, brat!" the man shouted.
Ienzo leapt up and hurried over.
"Y-Yes…?"
"It seems like your letter worked…even though you sent it to Even instead of Ansem." Ienzo sighed in relief. "However, I feel like keeping you around until they prove that they will not restart their work. Oh and you will need to write another letter so they're aware." He slapped a piece of paper down in front of him along with a pen. "Get writing."
AN: The letter got to Even! Yay! And Gabrielle and Ienzo are getting closer. Aww.
Will they be okay and will Even ever get Ienzo back?